Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Baroness Masham of Ilton

Not to be confused with her former sister-in-law, The Hon. Mrs Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

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Baroness Masham of Ilton in November 2011

Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Countess of Swinton, Baroness Masham of Ilton, DL, DSG (born (1935-04-14)14 April 1935), née Sinclair, is a crossbench member of the House of Lords. She is the senior female life peer.

She was the daughter of Major Sir Ronald Sinclair, 8th Baronet. She was educated at the Heathfield School and London Polytechnic. In 1959 she married Lord Masham (1937–2006), who became The 2nd Earl of Swinton in 1972. By this marriage, she became Lady Masham, and later Countess of Swinton. Lord and Lady Swinton adopted two children. She was widowed in 2006. She is a prominent Roman Catholic convert and a patron of the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology.

She was disabled in a riding accident in 1958, and subsequently became a champion for causes related to disability. She was created a life peer in 1970 as the Baroness Masham of Ilton, of Masham in the North Riding of the County of York. She and her husband are one of the few couples to both hold titles in their own right. She was the subject of This Is Your Life in February 1976 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the foyer of the De Vere hotel in Kensington, London.

She is an active member of the House of Lords, where she continues to be known as the Baroness Masham of Ilton, a title she holds in her own right. She takes a particular interest in issues surrounding disability, health and penal reform. She continues to run the Masham Riding Centre in Masham, North Yorkshire. In 2011 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of Nursing.

She competed in several Paralympic Games, winning medals for table tennis in 1960, 1964, and 1968.

Titles from birth

• Miss Susan Lilian Primrose Sinclair (1935 – 1959)
• Lady Masham (1959 – 1970)
• The Rt Hon. The Baroness Masham of Ilton (1970 – present) ^‡
• The Rt Hon. The Countess of Swinton (1972 – 2006)
• The Rt Hon. The Dowager Countess of Swinton (2006 – present)

^‡ As active member of the House of Lords, she uses in daily life her life peer title.

Sources

• University of East Anglia Honorary Degree Citation at the Wayback Machine (archived April 18, 2007)
• Masham Riding Centre
• 2nd Earl of Swinton, DL (1937-2006) – Google Peerage News Group

External links

• Lady Swinton's appearance on This Is Your Life
• Portraits of Susan Lilian Primrose Cunliffe-Lister, Baroness Masham of Ilton (Countess of Swinton) at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• House of Lords profileSusan Masham in IPC databaseSusan Masham in IPC databaseMarsham in IPC database